Albus Potter










And The




Column of Fire












Chapter One






The Unexpected Meets Teenage Witches


Albus Potter watched the emerald flames erupt in his fire place, swallowing up his big brother, James. He gulped and looked at his mother, squatting down beside him. She looked reassuringly into his brown eyes, identical to her own and then ruffled her sons untidy black hair
. Albus gulped again and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. What if I get lost in the fire place? He thought.

“You will be all right Al.” His mother assured him. “You travel by Floo powder all the time! There is no way it will be different this time!” Albus was not convinced.

“Are you sure?” He asked worriedly.” Lilly, his sister scoffed.

“You are such a worrywart Al! Just go and get a move on! Natalie, me and Rose are going to go to uncle George’s shop for pygmy puffs and I cant be late!” She said crossly, glaring at Albus. Albus sighed, knowing he could not argue with pygmy pulls, took a large handful of floo powder from the pot in his mothers hands then walked to the fire place and, squeezing his eyes shut, he shakily made out the words, “Diagon Alley” before tumbling into darkness.

Albus struggled to remember what he had been told a million times. Tuck in your arms. Watch out for the right fireplace. Don’t go too far. Don’t go to early. Albus’s head spun as the harmless green flames swirled around him. Slowly he opened an eye and then the other, just in time to dive into the familiar fire place. His head connected painfully with the splintery wood floor of the Leaky Cauldron and he lay there for a moment, waiting for the room to stop spinning. He had the uncomfortable sensation of needing to chuck up his breakfast and his lungs burned from inhaling too much ash so he just continued laying on the hard floor. Just a his head began to feel a bit better, there was a loud pop and a painful thunk as Albus’s head once again hit the floor, his sister landing on his back, feet first. Groaning, the little witch got up, brushing soot from her robes. She stumbled, and as her knee connected to Albus’s head and he knew that he would have a large bruise on his forehead within the hour.

“Sorry Al.” Lilly said, not sounding sorry at all. Albus heard her patter away, a delighted squeal already issuing from her mouth upon the sight of her school friends. Rubbing his head tenderly, Albus hulled himself up onto his knees, his eyes watering. He noticed a small burn on the floor where someone had dripped candle wax, and it oddly disturbed him. Slowly he rose to his feet, staring around the almost empty Leaky Cauldron. Tom, he Bar Keeper, was staring at him strangely, absentmindedly wiping down a mug. Albus looked strait ahead, coughing ash up as he stumbled outside behind the pub. He pressed his back against the uneven brick wall, panting. His gaze slid beside him, an old dust bin, insignificant as it looked, Albus knew it was the entrance to Diagon Alley, the bustling shopping street, home to many peculiar wizarding shops and the social meeting place of wizards around England.

A piece of drift wood lay beside the dustbin and Albus, crouching down picked it up, rubbing his fingertips over the smooth, soft wood. then, quite suddenly, not to his surprise, the little piece of wood rose up into the air and tapped one of the many bricks above the bin. With a grinding sound, the wall started to part way to the little boy and though it had happened to him millions of times, he couldn’t help but feel very exited with every little feat of magic. Still coughing up little soot particles, Albus made his way through the newly made arch, just to turn around in time to see the bricks shift back in place, the cleverly disguised wand returning to it’s position beside the dust bin.

Albus swept around again and bumped his forehead, once again, against his eldest brother’s.

“Where have you been?” James, said, his red hair flopping into his eyes. “We waited ages for you to show up!”
Albus rubbed his forehead tenderly. “Merlins Beard, I might as well have a scar, after all...” Albus mumbled crossly. “I... I got held up, okay.” He said peevishly.

“Didn’t get scared again did you?” A familiar voice said, from behind Albus. Hugo, his cousin, stepped in, his face was covered by a large stack of books.

“No, I didn’t.” Albus said crossly. “What are you doing with those books anyway? Not studying again are you? We still have a few weeks before September first.”

“Hey! What’s wrong with being prepared?”

“Being teased for getting answers wrong!” James teased.

“Good grades are better than being held back a year!”

“Well... I always try to aim for an E rather than an O!”

Hugo placed his stack on the ground to push his glasses up his nose.

“Fine, be that way, but I want to be head boy someday!” James mocked puking behind his back as Hugo struggled to lift his books again.

“I think there is something wrong with him!” James whispered as they began to walk down the busy street.

Albus strained to see over the heads of the many witches and wizards in front of him. He heard an elderly wizard mumbling something about rat spleens and somewhere in front a young witch begged her mother for Ice cream, cheep vendors yelled out sales featuring exploding quills, lucky waving cats (made from real goblin gold! ) and Albus had to drag James away from a table displaying the original skiving snack boxes. “ Don’t Even Think about it!” Hugo said. “I wouldn’t miss a class for the world!”

“Oh, shut it smarty pants.”

Albus pushed his way to view the new Moonbeam 800 (Dispenses disappearing moon dust in flight!) He fingered the tag on the label and disappointedly pushed his way back into the crowd, hanging onto James’ robes. Slowly the trio made their way past Flourish and Blotts, the potion apothecary and Albus and Hugo stared longingly through Eeylops Owl Emporium, while James gloated smugly that he already had a great Eagle Owl, soon after they visited the smaller branch of St. Mungo’s for James broken nose after Hugo smacked him in the face with Natural Symptoms and Remedies of Ancient Wizardry, a Guid to Herbology Healing. After Hugo apologized, pooled the last of his allowance onto the hospital counter, and James said things that would have lasted him a years worth of groundings, the three made their way to Florean Fortescue’s Ice cream parlor, where they were scolded by their mothers for being so late, and they stumbled over excuses for why in fact they couldn’t even show up in time. Ten minutes later they sat around a large table, licking assorted ice cream cones and playing a round of exploding snap. Albus’ mother and father hurried off in search of a certain book they needed.

“Oh, Em, Gee!” Albus James and Hugo turned around where they faced their darkest terror, teenage sisters. “You guys look so lame! What a bunch of dweebs! I can’t believe you like, actually broke someones nose Hugo! And James, You, like actually got beat up by my like, loser brother!?” Rose asked, swinging her brunette hair out of her eyes. A small fluffy creature with no visible face, nor life signs sat on her shoulder.

“How’d You know?” said James’ crossly, rubbing his nose.

“ It was an accident...” Hugo slid down his seat so only the top of his head showed.

“Shove off ,” Albus pushed his sister into her friend Natalie and Rose. “Go pick on girls your own size, we’ll give you to five to bug off before...things’ll get...Bad.”

“Oh wow, impressive. You'll never defeat us. I doubt you've even cursed an ant!” Lily taunted her brother.

“I’m warning you,” James and Hugo sighed and warily got up.

“Five...” Albus said slowly.

“Four...”

“Three...”

“Two...”

“Last chance, one..”

“You asked for it.” James slammed into Lilly as Hugo whopped Rose in the face. Albus leapt into Natalie and began to hit her on the head with one of Hugo’s books. Soon, Albus found him at the bottom of the Puppy pile, his sore forehead pressed into the concrete patio. “You have got to be kidding me.” He managed as his nose got pushed even harder into the floor. He heard his brother yell and Hugo muster “Not fair, no wands!”

“YEAH! We can’t have wands till we are eleven! Tradition Rule!” Albus called out.
“And James was a fool and left his at home!”Hugo yelled
“Who you calling fool?” James cried from the top of the pile.

“Why you dear brother, I always knew that!” Lily giggled, fallowed shortly by a loud “Omph!” As James slapped her across the head. Natalie yelled out “Tarantallegra!” And, Hugo began kicking Albus in the head repeatedly from the jinx.

“Ow.” He sighed and he began to sweat as the punching and biting and kicking continued around him.

“Ow.”

“You dirty, cheating Scoundrel!”

“OUCH! That was my foot Natalie!”

“Sorry!”

“Ow.”

“What’s the counter jinx?”

“Why don’t you-OUCH!”

“Tell me the counter jinx!”

“ow.”

“Bite me again and i’ll jinx your whole head off James!”

“I’d like to see you try!”

“Ow.”

“Locomotor Wibbly!”

“Oh Come on!”

“That is SO not fair!”

“ Ow! You are like, on my arm.”

“ Furnunculus!”

“Ow.”

“What did you do to my nose?”

“Am I bleeding?”

“Get off me NOW!”

“WHAT IS THE COUNTER CURSE!”

“Ow.” And so it continued.

“GET OFF EACH OTHER RIGHT NOW AND LINE UP IN FRONT OF ME! YOU SIX ARE IN DEEP TROUBLE RIGHT NOW!”

“Who was that?” Lilly whispered.

“I think it was mum.”

“Get off me Hugo!” the six struggled to get to their feet and shakily Albus rose. His face was checkered with little grooves where the gravel had pressed into his cheek.


“UNJELLIFY, FURNICLUIFY, TANTELLIGRATIO!” Albus gulped at the sight of his aunt. Hugo rubbed his legs a relieved smile on his face as he regained use of his legs. The smile slowly slid into a frown upon seeing his mother.She didn’t look happy. “WHAT ON EARTH WERE YOU DOING?” She roared? “IF YOU WAN’T TO BECOME PREFECTS YOU MIGHT WANT TO CHANGE YOUR BEHAVIOR!” Hugo sniffed sulkily at his mothers words. James squeezed his nose to top the bleeding, and Albus too began to sink out of reality, his eyes glazed over and he stopped hearing what his aunt had to say. Why did every conversation with his aunt had to lead to head boys and prefects? What was so special about them any way? Except when ice cream involved, Albus didn’t put much effort into trying to get places.

“DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?” His aunt demanded.

“Yes ma’am.” Albus mumbled. Next to him, the girls were nodding their heads and smiled sweetly, as if they cared about what was being told.

“Of course Mother.”

“We won’t disappoint you Aunt Hermione!” Lilly said a little too enthusiastically.

“Never again Mrs. Weasly!” Natalie breathed. It annoyed Albus that Natalie always pretended to be fragile and shy. “We didn’t mean it!” She sniffed. “ We were hurt by what the boys were saying! Albus said it himself that he only wanted to make us feel jealous!” you could see her forcing herself to cry by keeping her eyes wide.

“Jealous of what?” Hermione asked suspiciously. Natalie paused, trying to think fast.

“Albus plans to buy a wand himself! Before he turns eleven! He wants to brake tradition because he can’t wait to be able to hurt us back!” Lilly cut in.

“Hurt you back?” Hermione asked. Rose hissed angrily.

“Hurt.. our... Hurt our backs!” Lilly caught herself. “He wants to jinx us behind our backs.” The other two girls nodded enthusiastically.

“Albus? Is this true?” Hermione asked gravely. Albus shook his head.

“No! They are ly-” He argued.

“HOW DARE YOU THREATEN THESE GIRLS! YOUR OWN SISTER! YOUR COUSIN!” Hermione shook with anger. “Now I want you and your brother and sister to go to your mother and father by Flourish and Blotts. Natalie, you should go find your parents, here, EPISKY, looks like your finger was broken. Hugo, Rose, you stay RIGHT HERE!” Albus, James and Lilly hurried off, though it didn’t save their ears from the horrible screaming going on outside the ice cream parlor.

“Stupid Jerks.” Lilly hissed, and James shoved her into Flourish and Blotts.
Albus stuck his tongue out and fallowed his sister into the dim book shop. A small bell tinkled over hi head as he swung the door open and immediately Albus had the impression of looking into Hugo’s room. Books didn’t just line the shelves, but also the walls, floors. Some were stacked on counters and the chairs and benches were entirely useless as they too were stacked high with books. A winding staircase with encyclopedias stacked against the banister spiraled up into a second level. Albus sniffed deeply only to inhale a lot of dust. He sneezed and his father stuck his head out from behind a stack of books on hexes. His untidy dark hair, fell into his eyes and his glasses fell off his nose and on to the floor where they shattered. “Repairo.” He muttered, waving his wand and bending down to pick them up.

“Dad, We need to go get me some new school robes!” Lilly demanded. Their Father straitened up.

“What is the magic word?”

“Abracadabra, Dad PLE-ASE!” Lilly begged. “ My old ones don't fit me. I NEED new ones” She pouted.

“Hmmm... I’m not sure. Not after you jinxed your brother and got into mounds of trouble by Hermione.” Lilly’s jaw dropped.
“What.”
“I have my ways.” Their father said gravely. James snorted.
“Yeah, and don’t you think your the victim, I know as well as anyone you bit Natalie.” James hid behind a pile of books.

“It was an accident.” This time it was Albus who snorted.

“Lilly’s a cauldron of snake eggs Dad. She jinxed Hugo and used magic on us.”

“Yeah. I was jinxed too! That’s why I bit Natalie.” James peeked out from behind the stack of books. “We are the victims of horrible teenage girls!”

“Hey, don’t look so happy.” Their father warned. “ You know that your sister and her friends will murder us all in our sleep someday anyway, don't encourage her.” James snickered and Lilly crossed her arms.

“I might if you keep acting like flobberworms.” Harry cringed.

“Yeah? Well your a pile of Blast-Ended Skrewt droppings!”

“And I’m a Unicorn!” there was the sound of pages being flipped as the door swung open and the siblings favorite ever changing Metamorphmagus relative walked through the door. It was Teddy Lupin.